Texas—style Chili
by Son Rhandi
Summary: Terry the Kid visits his home after the encounter with the Nightmares. A little bit of father-son bonding ensues.


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Disclaimer: Once again, I don't own Ultimate Muscle/Kinnikuman II. That's the property of Yudetamago/Shueisha/Toei/4Kids Productions.

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Notes: Not using the dub names this time. It's anyone's guess as to why I'm writing about Terry. I don't know myself. Just sitting there looking at a picture of him and then, BOOM! This…

Let's Educate! Original names VS Dub names

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Seiuchin=Wally Tusket

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Gazelle Man=Dik Dik Van Dick

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Tel Tel Boy=Dialbolic

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Max Man=Pumpinator

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Rex King=Tyrannoclaw

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Texas-style Chili

By Son Rhandi

Terry the Kid… A little bashful, he seemed, that youngun who since Day 1 resented being in his father's shadow--the old legend, Terryman--and since Day 2 bore hatred toward the Kinnikuman line. He was always an argumentative lad with a head as hot as the jalapenos that grew south of the border. The boy never listened to a word his father said. That is, he never listened when he felt Daddy was being weak. What kind of man was he, to let Suguru Kinnikuman--King Muscle--hog all the glory? Nice guys finish last; that's what they say… Well, **tough** guys stand alone, stand apart, and stand tall… and they always make it **way** before everyone else, or so he had come to believe.

In the Hercules Factory, his hatred burned steadily, that oaf Kid Muscle--that pig-faced Mantaro!--with his oh-so-heralded bloodline taking the spotlight away from the Kenyan family. It was up to him to be the best, to rank as the No. 1 wrestler, to be better than his dad and that idiot, Mantaro. Of course, as situations change, a man's feelings changes with them. With the threat of the dMp, the Earth Team--himself, Seiuchin, that old Irish pinniped, Gazelle Man, and of course, Kid Muscle--was forced to action. Tel Tel Boy and Max Man were defeated, but not without cost to Seiuchin's health. Kevin..? Ha, ha, ha… Oh, Kevin Mask, so honorable, never belonged with the dMp to begin with, and left his teammates to rot.

The antics of Sunshine and his two came ill-timed, as well. A hard match but victory was found in the freezing cool provided by the A/C above. Rex King down, then Checkmate. A triple-cross ensued and the dMp headquarters, that humongous fist planted in the side of Mount Fuji, blew up with the chances of Sunshine's chance of being up with its top men. Take your chess set wrestler and go home, you old man…

It was different being back home after such a long time. The ranch still hadn't changed a bit, the same old dusty ground, specks of green strewn here and there, same old wooden post fence, horses were off neighing and whinnying like usual… _Kind o' dissatisfyin' to see that time ain't moved a minute but kinda relieving', too… _True.There's always relief in the unchanged.In that kitchen his mother always kept so clean and neat, at that same hardwood table he'd had his meals at as far back as he could remember, he ate quietly. The young Texan didn't know how much time had passed since he partook in a bowl of his mother's chili with the perfect balance of sweetness and saltiness that he and his father so enjoyed. He felt the same about a steaming bowl of ground beef chunks and beans in a tomato base in the way that Mantaro did his 'rice with cow' bowls. Of course, Terry wasn't one to parade around and sing about it. 

"I heard on the TV that y'all new Muscle Leaguers beat the dMp."

He stopped the spoon midway to his mouth. "Hey, daddy." He didn't bother looking up.

"Izzat all you got to say t' me, boy? Just a 'hey, daddy'?"

"Fer right now," the younger Terry replied before taking in another mouthful of chili. "Mind if I sit an' eat a spell? Jes got in from a long flight, y'know."

"Yeah, I know." Terryman went to the stove and readied himself a bubbling bowl of his wife's specialty. "You did right well against that there dino feller. Yer mother an' I are real proud o' you."

The boy didn't say a word. His father sat adjacent to him, stirring his food a bit. "Glad y' finally realized the power in our family's fleet-footedness. It's gotten us Kenyans out of many a scrape in our day." 

Terry went on ignoring him. The father person gave a little sigh and asked of his son in a most somber voice:

"…Why do you hate me, boy?"

The young man looked up at his father, wide-eyed, the first eye contact he'd made since he returned home. "I don't hate you, daddy..."

"Then why 're y' always bein' like that with me?"

"I…… I dunno."

"I'll let y' in on a little secret, boy," Terryman began in his calmest voice." I may have been one of the toughest wrestlers of my day, but I'm just a man, a man with feelings just like you. Would it kill you to talk a bit with the only daddy you've got..?"

The Muscle Leaguer looked down at his near empty bowl. "I'm sorry…"

"It's alright," he smiled sadly. "Yer still young and have plenty of time to learn. Maybe you'll understand one day when you have a son of yer own…" He took a spoonful of beef past his lips. "You gettin' along good with that there Kid Muscle?"

"Mm-hmm. A lot better. Gazelle Man and Seiuchin ain't bad t' be around, either."

"That's good. As long as you've got some good fellers to back ya, you'll be safe. …You know the dMp don't go down so easy..?"

"Don't worry none, daddy," Terry assured him, waving his spoon as he would a free finger. "They won't try anythin' funny fer a while, an' supposin' they do? Well, I'll wrangle 'em all right off the Earth!"

"Is that so? Well, you'll learn one day, boy. You'll learn…"

Make sure to wash your dishes, boys. The lady of the house will thank you for it.

  



End file.
